


trailblazing

by Snickfic



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 2015-2016 NHL Season, Gen, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 19:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16939599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snickfic/pseuds/Snickfic
Summary: Shea got a lot of calls after the press conference. When Sid’s name appeared on his phone, it was a welcome break.





	trailblazing

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this tweet (although the timeline of the announcement is different in the fic):  
> https://twitter.com/justinbbradford/status/657623671125757952  
> David Poile confirms that Shea Weber and his wife are having another baby in about a month. #Preds
> 
> I started this three years ago and am coming to terms with the fact that there will never be any more than this, so I am posting.

Shea got a lot of calls after the press conference. The incredulity ran deep, and a week in, he’d gotten a little tired of it. _This is why you’re doing this,_ he kept telling himself. Sometimes Mindy said it for him. It was a little more effective when she said it. So when Sid’s name appeared on the incoming call, it was a welcome break. “Sid,” Shea said warmly, relaxing back into the recliner. His back should not ache this much already, he was certain. He hadn't even put on much weight yet. When he’d pointed this out to Mindy, she’d only patted him on the arm.

“Hey, so, congratulations?” 

Sid wasn’t the only one to phrase it like a question. Shea was used to it now. Mostly. “Thanks. We’re pretty excited.”

“I bet. That’s really great, man.”

“Yeah, well, Mindy and I have kind of been talking about it for a while, you know? Even before I retired. We always knew we wanted another kid or two—” Although Shea’s interest in doing this more than once had taken a beating during the two and a half months of morning sickness. “—and when it turned out I could, it just seemed right, you know?”

“Sure,” Sid said, sounding not at all sure. Shea waited him out, and finally Sid said cautiously, “You’re probably going to get a lot of flack for it.”

Drily, Shea said, “Yeah, I did think of that before I did it.”

“Right.” 

Shea blew out a breath. “A lot of people have been telling me that, like I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant—” He was still not quite used to saying that. “—if I’d realized there was a stigma attached to it. That’s fucking part of the reason I’m doing it, so maybe the next guy will get a little _less_ flack.”

After a long pause, Sid said, “That’s really great of you to do.”

He wasn’t the first or the third person to say it, once Shea explained his reasons—and there were definitely PR spots in Shea’s future, where he made those reasons explicit to the public at large—but something in his tone caught Shea’s attention. Percentages said there had to be more guys in the league with the capability than just Shea, but he’d never met one who admitted to it. Carefully he said, “I want people to feel like they can talk about it. I want them to feel like they can talk to _me_ about it, if they want.”

Sid laughed this time. “Always the captain.”

“You think you ever stop captaining, _Kid_?”

“No, I guess not.”

The humor seemed to have cleared the air a little. Shea took a deep breath and said, “Listen, when are you guys coming into town? It’s pretty early, isn’t it? Sometime in October? Why don’t you come by for dinner with Mindy and me.”

“Yeah?” Sid said. That caution had returned to his voice, and Shea knew, he _knew_ he was right. 

“Yeah, you’ll get the full effect—I'll be as big as a house by then. I’ll tell you all about it. And you know how Mindy can cook.”

The pause was shorter this time. It felt hopeful, somehow. “Yeah, okay. Maybe I’ll do that.”


End file.
